An open letter has been sent to CJI NV Ramana, signed by 15 retired judges, 77 retired bureaucrats and 25 retired armed forces officers, against the observation made by Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala while hearing Nupur Sharma's case in the Supreme Court on July 1.
A group of former judges, bureaucrats and retired armed forces
officers have criticised the recent Supreme Court observations against
suspended BJP member Nupur Sharma. In an open letter sent to CJI NV Ramana,
they have alleged that the apex court surpassed the "Laxman Rekha"
and called for "urgent rectification" steps. Notably, the top court
on July 1 castigated Nupur Sharma for comments on Prophet Muhammad, saying her
remarks are disturbing and smack of arrogance. Referring to her apology for her
comment against Prophet Mohammad, the SC bench had said that it was too late
and her remark led to unfortunate incidents.
An open letter has been sent to CJI NV Ramana, signed by 15
retired judges, 77 retired bureaucrats and 25 retired armed forces officers,
against the observation made by Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala while
hearing Nupur Sharma's case in the Supreme Court.
The letter stated that the roster of Justice Surya Kant be
withdrawn till he attains superannuation and least be directed to withdraw the
remarks and observations made by him during the hearing of the Nupur Sharma
case.
The open letter by the organisation 'Forum for Human Rights and
Social Justice, J&K and Ladakh at Jammu' demands the roster of Justice
Surya Kant be withdrawn till he attains superannuation and at least be directed
to withdraw the remarks and observations made by him during the hearing.
According to the statement, "In the annals of judiciary,
the unfortunate comments have no parallel and are indelible scar on justice
system of the largest democracy. Urgent rectification steps are called for as
these have potentially serious consequences on democratic values and security
of the country."
The statement was signed by 15 former judges, 77 ex-all India
services officers and 25 veterans including former chief justice of the Bombay
High Court Kshitij Vyas, former Gujarat High Court judge S M Soni, former
Rajasthan High Court judges R S Rathore and Prashant Agarwal and former Delhi
High Court judge S N Dhingra. Former IAS officers R S Gopalan and S Krishna
Kumar, ambassador (retired) Niranjan Desai, former DGPs S P Vaid and B L Vohra,
Lt Gen V K Chaturvedi (retired) and Air Marshall (retired) S P Singh have also
signed the statement which said the SC observations are not in sync with
judicial ethos.
The statement said, "By no stretch these observations,
which are not part of the judicial order, can be sanctified on the plank of
judicial propriety and fairness. Such outrageous transgressions are without
parallel in the annals of Judiciary."
On July 1, the Supreme Court came down heavily
on Nupuir Sharma for her controversial comments against Prophet Mohammad,
saying her "loose tongue" has "set the entire country on
fire" and that she is "single-handedly responsible for what is
happening in the country". The top court had refused to entertain Nupur's
plea for clubbing of FIRs lodged in various states against her for the remark,
and held that the comment was made either for cheap publicity, political agenda
or some nefarious activities.
Criticising the SC's observations, the statement said, "We,
as concerned citizens, do believe that democracy of any country will remain
intact till all the institutions perform their duties as per the constitution.
Recent comments by the two judges of the Supreme Court have surpassed the
Laxman Rekha and compelled us to issue an open statement." It further
claimed that these "unfortunate and unprecedented" comments have sent
shockwaves in the country and outside.
Noting that Nupur Sharma sought access to the justice system
before the highest court, the statement said the court's observations have no
connect jurisprudentially with the issue raised in the petition and
"transgressed in an unprecedented manner all canons of the dispensation of
justice", adding "She was defacto denied access to judiciary and in
the process, there was an outrage on the preamble, spirit and essence of the
Constitution of India."
It further said, "Legal fraternity is bound to be surprised
and shocked at the observation that an FIR should lead to arrest. The
observations on other agencies in the country, without notice to them, are
indeed worrisome and alarming." The signatories also defended Sharma's
plea for clubbing all FIRs against her citing previous orders of the apex
court.
It may be noted here that Nupur Sharma's comments against the
Prophet during a TV debate had triggered protests across the country and drew
sharp reactions from many Gulf countries. The BJP subsequently suspended her
from the party. The top court had also pulled up the Delhi Police saying,
"What has happened in the investigation so far? What has Delhi Police done
so far? Don't make us open our mouth? They must have put a red carpet for
you."
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